On redfin there are a bunch of phantom lots split up in a grid with easements for roads, but it is all on wetlands. Seems like someone subdivided the area for a much larger city, and then no one actually filled in the area.

So that brings me to a few questions, is the area prone to flooding? Is there risk of liquefaction here? Should one get flood and earthquake insurance? They mention no mail service, what is the fire service like. Too many questions, but it seems that some of these might be risks someone buying there might have to take.

Alviso’s something like 15 feet under sea level. A friend of mine built a geodesic dome house after buying land cheap after the last big flood which was in the 90s so no one remembers it now (anything that happened more than 5 years ago never happened, saves us Americans learning history).

The top level of the geo-dome is above the water level in the next flood, but he’ll have to boat a LONG way to get to land. And dry rot is busily eating up the top part.

Alviso would be a great site for some kind of independent film. A sort of “Salton Sea” for the bay area.

I had been to Alviso more that 10 years ago when a friend took me to his favorite Mexican restaurant. I was surprised to see how desolate the whole town was.

Now google maps shows several new communities in this area. Looking at all the swamps around the town does not give me a good feel for these communities.

What surprises me is that they will give building permits to build on a swamp but not to the west of 280. There is some half baked story about west of 280 being unsafe because of earthquakes.

I will go ahead and say my mind though I know I will regret it. The rich snobs in Palo Alto and Saratoga really want to keep the suburbs out of their backyard. They have their wonderful community, great schools and plesant commute. Who cares about the rest of the masses!!!

Your statement doesn’t make sense. West of 280 is a protected area due to environmental reasons. What does it have to do with Palo Alto or Saratoga? Palo Alto is already situated right next to East Palo Alto. How do you explain that?

All these new homes built in the Alviso swamp do not have first floors. These homes have generous garage/parking in the first floor and dwelling is in second and third floors. The homes are not handicapped friendly since you have to climb the stairs.

Palo Alto is already situated right next to East Palo Alto. How do you explain that?
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You must be loving people from your neighbor city. Is that what you are trying say? “Please come here and live NEXT to us. Please name your city East Palo Alto. Palo Alto and East Palo Alto – brother-brother“. Were you one of those real estate brokers of 1960s who used to put their cards in mailbox with note “a black family moved next door“? If so, I understand.

Well, my wife and I are finally gonna jump on the house owning bandwagon soon. We put in an offer for 320k on a house in Monterey and it got accepted. It was a short sale. House needs some work, but we were quite surprised on the neighborhood and the house itself. The house sold in 2006 for 789k. Geezus.

After long research and interviewed with Alviso residents many times, I decided to buy a vacant land to build my dream home in Alviso.

Some concerns were frequently mentioned about Alviso:
1. Bad smell
I had been Alviso many times when I smelled bad from Milpitas and I-880, there was no problem at all in Alviso. The water treatment plant and landfills east of Alviso do cause some smell, but the smell floats east right over Milpitas, and not south and west into Alviso.

2. Flooding
Major flood project completed on Lower Guadalupe River in San Jose, The river now has 100-year flood protection.

Alviso has three roads to connect 237 freeway, the most convenient location to reach high tech workplaces.

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